Take note

Life is beautiful. It's something we often forget or don't even properly internalize because our reality these days (at least according to the news) never seems to be anything but a series of unfortunate events. Taking stock in the here and the now, no matter where you are in your journey, is an invaluable part of it all. Rehan Choudhry created Las Vegas' Life Is Beautiful music festival as a means to get people to say the phrase over and over again. (Repetition helps, right?) So we asked a selection of our favorite musicians playing the festival what makes their life beautiful. Tiny moments of introspection, like these, in the middle of a raging music fest are rare but so very powerful. We all need a reminder (or 13) of how good things actually are.

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Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

KehlaniTo me, what makes life beautiful is knowing the fact that we could fall at any time and get back up. I think it's the idea that life goes on is what makes it beautiful. It's short, but you just have to kick ass at it while you're here.

The Naked & FamousYou know what? I feel privileged to be still doing this. I feel very lucky. I think people like to claim hard work, but you know what? Luck is a more powerful force than anyone likes to admit, and I feel very privileged to be doing what I'm doing. So I guess, for me, that is a thing of beauty. — Thom Powers, vocals & guitar

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

Jess GlynneWhat makes my life beautiful? A few things: my family, my friends, the people I work with, my job, and me.

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

Sir the Baptist I would say my spirit. I would say being connected to the intangible makes my life beautiful because it almost changes the perspective of anything I look at; and anything I see, I immediately see it as more beautiful through my spirit than with my eyes.

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

LANYWhat we're doing, it's the best thing in the world, man. I was thinking about it, "How nice is it to, like, be doing what you have to do?" And, I guess people could say, "Nah, you don't have to do it, you get to do it." But, no, we have to go on tour. And, it's a lot of work, and we sacrifice a lot, but honestly, I love doing it. It's nice to love doing what you have to do. We all have to work, we all have to pay our bills, and it's beautiful that I get to do what I love, and I get to love what I have to do. — Paul Jason Klein, lead vocalist

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

Bishop BriggsI think, for me, what makes life the most beautiful is doing music every single day. Even when I was playing to three people in a coffee shop and they were all checking their phones, I felt so fulfilled because I was doing music. And I feel like when you're in a creative field, it's not really about success or the typical success story; it's about the pursuit of it, and that's where you feel the most authentic.

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

Jimmy Eat WorldI think for us, as a band, the opportunity to play music, and for people to appreciate that music to some degree, and to the degree where it allows us to travel and see the world. I mean, that's a pretty huge factor in all of our lives in terms of experiencing the world and living our lives. And obviously, just for me personally, my family, my kids, my wife, the challenges and the joys of that are something that makes my life beautiful. — Zach Lind, drums

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

Band Of SkullsWhat makes life beautiful? Well, we're pretty lucky I guess. For us, growing up to make a living out of the thing you love doing is most people's kind of idea of the dream. That's what we get to do, and, in turn, we make other people happy by doing what we do. I think that's a really beautiful thing about life... making other people happy. — Matt Hayward, drums

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

SnakehipsThe people I meet, the friends I've got, and getting to travel loads. — Oliver Lee

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

REZZWhat makes life beautiful to me is being able to make music and have it resonate with people. It's awesome to be able to travel the world and make a career out of doing something I absolutely love. My career is completely taking off in ways I have always hoped for but didn't expect early on. It's the best thing on the entire planet.

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

Tegan + SaraSara: For me, it's all about friends and family. That's ultimately the thing that I sort of feel has been the most consistent and rewarding part of my life. All of it. When we were kids, we had great friends; now as adults, we have great friends. Our family, being able to spend time with each other, that's what makes life beautiful.Tegan: It's probably just a product of getting older and experiencing loss, but I would say there's something very beautiful about losing things. It gives you a whole new perspective and it puts things in context. I'm always like, "Zoom out, zoom out, zoom out." As I'm getting older, I'm realizing how little control we have over things, and sometimes it takes experiencing some sort of loss or some trauma to recognize how beautiful everything really is. I hate to think that life would get so easy and so perfect that I would forget to appreciate how that's not that common. I've learned to really embrace the tragic and the loss.

Photographed by Lindsey Byrnes

Banks & SteelzPaul Banks: What makes life beautiful for me... there are so many ways to answer that question, but good weather, good food, friends, music, family. I could basically just do a list that never ends.RZA: I agree with you. It's like, what doesn't make life beautiful? Life is beautiful. I think life is the greatest gift given to us, and it's beautiful, man.